Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-
Périgord
Charles de Talleyrand-Périgord
Talleyrand by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon (detail)
1st
Prime Minister of France
In office
9 July 1815 – 26 September 1815
Preceded by
None 1
Succeeded by
Armand-Emmanuel du
Plessis, Duc de Richelieu
45th, 47th, 52nd and 55th
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
9 July 1815 – 26 September 1815
Prime Minister Self
Preceded by
Louis de Bignon
Succeeded by
Armand Emmanuel du
Plessis, Duc de Richelieu
In office
13 May 1814 – 20 March 1815
Preceded by
Antoine René Charles
Mathurin, comte de Laforest
Succeeded by
Armand Augustin Louis de
Caulaincourt
In office
22 November 1799 – 9 August 1807
Preceded by
Karl Reinhard
Succeeded by
Jean-Baptiste Nompère de
Champagny
In office
15 July 1797 – 20 July 1799
Preceded by
Charles Delacroix
Succeeded by
Karl Reinhard
Born
2 February
1754(1754-02-02)
Paris, France
Died
17 May 1838 (aged 84)
Nationality
French
Residence
Valençay, France
1 See List of Prime Ministers of France
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord,
1st Sovereign Prince of Beneventum (2
February 1754 – 17 May 1838) was a French
diplomat. He worked successfully from the
regime of Louis XVI, through the French Re-
volution and then under Napoleon I, Louis
XVIII, Charles X, and Louis-Philippe. Known
since the turn of the 19th century simply by
the name Talleyrand, he is widely regarded
as one of the most versatile and influential
diplomats in European history.
He was nicknamed the Prince of Diplo-
mats,[1].
Early life
Talleyrand was born into an aristocratic fam-
ily in Paris. A congenital leg limp left him un-
able to enter the anticipated military career.
Deprived of his rights of primogeniture by a
family council, which judged his physical con-
dition incompatible with the traditional milit-
ary careers of the Talleyrand Counts of Perig-
ord, he was instead directed to an ecclesiast-
ic career. This was considerably assisted and
encouraged by his uncle Alexandre Angélique
de Talleyrand-Périgord, then Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Reims. It would appear